


The First Meeting Always Goes By Too Quickly

by MoonlitLilium



Series: Juban Week 2020 [6]
Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, First Meetings, JuBan Week, JuBan Week 2020, M/M, Trans Girl!Yuki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:09:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26915671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonlitLilium/pseuds/MoonlitLilium
Summary: The fateful meeting between the crown prince of Veludo Kingdom, Prince Juza, and a mysterious masked actor from a traveling troupe.Juban Week Day 6Prompt: AU Day!
Relationships: Hyoudou Juuza/Settsu Banri, Rurikawa Yuki/Sakisaka Muku
Series: Juban Week 2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1955917
Kudos: 40





	The First Meeting Always Goes By Too Quickly

Veludo kingdom was a beautiful, prosperous land. It’s people lived in comfort, harvests were bountiful, and trade bustled. Seasonal festivals were plentiful and exciting. The common folk could mingle with nobles and lords without fear. Life in all its ways was celebrated. But even within all this splendor, Veludo kingdom was known for one thing in particular. The performing arts. The royalty themselves would bestow high honors among the best actors the kingdom and travelers from around the continent had to offer. Productions were held within the royal auditorium each month, the royal family always in attendance. Theater festivals and competitions were held each season with generous prizes for those talented enough to claim first place or win the audience’s favor. 

Within Veludo kingdom there were three princes, all especially fond of theater. Prince Muku, son of the Queen’s sister, was a shy boy, who was often found reading romance novels. He excelled in horse riding, and had quite the following within the castle town despite his bashful nature. When he was on stage, however, no one would guess that was his true nature when they saw how bold his acting was. Prince Kumon, the second son of the Queen, was a very anxious, sickly child in his youth, but seemed to have bloomed with his interest in theater. He had a love for sports and could be often found playing with others outside the castle. Then, there was the eldest son and rightful heir to the throne, Prince Juza. Prince Juza was of intimidating stature and countenance, but shortly after meeting with him one would soon realize he was quite gentle by nature. An avid lover of sweets, though only those within the castle walls knew, he often had a hard time expressing himself, but much like with both Prince Muku and Prince Kumon, when he was on stage he shone like a magnificent star.

The three were often together in their free time. The younger two princes looked up to Prince Juza, admiring him for both his acting and his “manly” disposition. They attended productions throughout the kingdom, and even performed themselves quite often. At plays they were in attendance, actors on stage say they can feel the intense gazes of the three princes, watching in fierce observation. In plays they took part in people flocked from all over the kingdom, whether they be commoner or nobility, to have a chance at seeing the three princes in action. Acting was what the three princes held near and dear, everyone throughout the kingdom knew this and praised their three talented princes. 

A neighboring kingdom, the Kingdom of Mankai, shared this love of theater and the arts, making the two strong allies. The royals families visited each other often. Mankai Kingdom had one heir to the throne, Princess Yuki. The three Veludo princes and Mankai’s princess were close friends having grown up together. So close in fact, both royal families decided to arrange for Prince Juza and Princess Yuki to be wed, allowing for further prosperity throughout both kingdoms. The prince and princess in question didn’t harbor any romantic feelings towards each other, but agreed to the arrangement for the sake of their kingdoms. The day Prince Juza was crowned, would also be the day they wed. When announcements of the arrangement made it across the two kingdoms, all of their people rejoiced. A union of beloved Veludo prince and Mankai princess would surely bring the performing arts to a level they had never seen before.

There was, however, a single person who objected to the marriage in secret. The youngest Veludo prince, Muku. Prince Muku had been harboring feelings for Princess Yuki for many years. He hasn’t told a soul, deciding to keep the feelings inside, a burden only for himself to bear. Unbeknownst to him, Princess Yuki returned similar feelings. Many longing glances between the two are stolen, careful not to be caught by the other. Prince Juza is really the only person that has seemed to pick up on this, often subtly finding excuses for the two to enjoy more time together. He hopes to one day convince his mother, the Queen, that perhaps a marriage between the younger royals would be more beneficial. She is of course a benevolent ruler, one must be to have a kingdom so prosperous, but he knows she will worry if Juza is crowned with no one to rule beside him. Prince Juza of course doesn’t mind, such thoughts had never really taken hold before.

In early autumn, not long before the crown prince’s birthday, a grand harvest festival is held. One of the largest Veludo festivals there is to behold. There’s dancing, singing, and of course, a myriad of theater productions held throughout every village and town. The royal family of course partakes as well. Traditionally three troupes are invited to perform within the palace walls. Two from within the kingdom. The first was a troupe of nobles who often performed for the royal family. The second changed every year and was usually an up and coming troupe from within the kingdom. The third and last troupe was always from outside the kingdom. These troupes were all chosen by the queen herself. The visiting troupe this year in particular had garnered quite a bit of attention. It was a troupe of five young men, all hailing from different corners of the continent. Their performances were said to rival that of troupes that had been performing for royalty for decades. Their range of genre was unparalleled. Comedy, tragedy, adventure, romance, all were done to perfection, leaving the audience always wanting more. It didn’t hurt that they were all quite good looking as well. The town surrounding the royal palace was bustling with activity. The royal auditorium, large and grand as it was, had been packed so full that any latecomers had to stand. It was all worth it to catch a glimpse for the new troupe that had been collecting so much attention. The queen, her husband, veludo’s three princes, as well as the Mankai princess, were seated close to the stage so that they may fully experience the performance. Prince Juza in particular, was on the edgy of his seat. He had never heard so much buzz about a troupe before. He wanted to take everything he could from this show.

The first performance by the troupe of nobles was a slow building drama. The tale of a man on a quest for self-forgiveness after allowing his husband to die. The lead this time around was the leader of the troupe, Duke Sakyo, playing the man searching. The co-lead, played by Count Azuma, was a lonely spirit he happened to meet during his travels across the nameless land. The two meet others on their journey, played by Baron Homare and Sirs Chikage and Guy. The ending is bittersweet, the man is able to forgive himself, but he also has to say goodbye to the spirit that he’s now spent many years of his life with. 

The second performance was much more light hearted. The troupe went with a comedy-adventure. Juza himself hadn’t seen this particular troupe before, but from the other people around him he could tell they were also fairly popular. The story for this play was about a band of young warriors leaving their home village to train. They got into many hijinks, a few battles and by the end had forged an even stronger bond with each other. All the while getting the audience to laugh at the clever word play and exaggerated action scenes. A great way to follow the heavier performance that preceded it.

The visiting troupe always performed last, allowing them ample time to rehearse and also the honor of being the closing performance. When the lead stepped out on stage, Juza was immediately drawn to him. The man’s stage presence was intense, like he commanded everyone’s attention to be on him. A hush fell through the auditorium as the story began. It was the story of a phantom thief. The actor wore a mask, but was still able to convey every emotion his character was feeling through his subtle body language. Two more actors joined him on stage, also thieves. One with bright orange hair and the other with bright red. Certainly a striking cast, even without their faces shown. The three all wore elaborate capes and boots, in addition to their ornate masks. Even far from the stage one could see just how much detail went into the costumes. The story unfolded, three thieves hoping to do one last job that will make them rich beyond compare. The dynamic was interesting and portrayed very well. The thief who one would definitely call the leader, was very cold, not showing any sort of connection to the other two thieves. The other two, especially the apparent youngest, the one with crimson hair, held some form of concern for the other. Their target was a pair of young twin nobles who had just earned their title. Despite them not being thieves the two actors playing the nobles still wore masks, though theirs were much more like those you would wear to a masquerade. Juza found this to be an interesting detail. Neither side knows anything about the other, and yet they are similar in one way. Juza was impressed, the rumors of this troupe were beginning to hold up. The rest of the show was full of action and suspense. The twin nobles were much more intelligent than the thieves had expected. The red haired twin was a master planner. The black haired twin was an excellent fighter. Together they proved to be formidable. Just when it seemed the thieves had succeeded in their mission, the youngest, the one with bright red hair, was captured. The leader of the thieves, of course wants to immediately leave him behind, but the orange haired thief refuses and leaves their leader to rescue the younger. At first, the main thief leaves the estate, treasures in hand, but he stops. He begins a powerful soliloquy, words chosen carefully and executed with precision by the actor. The man on stage sweeps his gaze around the audience until it falls on Juza. The prince was close enough he could see the man’s striking blue eyes. Chills ran down his spine, as the thief uttered his last words of thought, then returned to the estate to save who he now calls his trusted comrades. Juza couldn’t get those eyes out of his mind.

The play ends with the master thief returning the treasures in return for his friend’s lives. The three thieves then head off once again, off to steal from another unsuspecting noble, but now as close companions, rather than men with aligning interests. The applause is deafening, Juza wasn’t sure when, but he was joining alongside everyone within the auditorium in a standing ovation. The five actors came to the stage for a bow, masks still concealing all of their faces. The actor with ice blue eyes directly in the center. Juza finds himself staring once more, surprised to see that his gaze is returned. The sandy haired actor slowly makes his way toward the prince. He kneels by the end of the stage, picks up one of the many flowers that had been thrown in praise by the audience, and offers it to the prince. Juza wordlessly takes the flower from the man, noting the sudden flush of his cheeks. Beside him he hears his brother let out a gasp. The masked actor flashes Juza a smile and returns to his previous spot on stage. Prince Juza is speechless as he looks down at the flower handed to him. It was small and golden, like his own eyes. The five actors leave the stage, applause still following their exit. That man, Juza hoped he would meet him again.

**Author's Note:**

> YESSS, I was so excited to write this one, I had a ton of fun. I really hope you enjoyed this AU!! (I had to come up with three play plots whoops, hope they're a little fun!)
> 
> I'm definitely going to write more for this AU, so view this as a sort of intro :D


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